Four inseparable friends try to face their midlife crisis with day trips and pranks at the expense of their families and the people around them.
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- lennyofficialJuly 23, 2026An irreverent and hilarious story about four inseparable friends set in Florence and its surrounding area. Perozzi (a journalist), Mascetti (a count whose family fortunes vanished ages ago, leaving him penniless), Melandri (an architect), and Necchi are lifelong friends who constantly meet up to get into what Florentines call *bischerate*—or, more commonly, juvenile pranks. Their favorite pastime is the *zingarata* (gypsy-style spree): vanishing completely for an indefinite period to wander aimlessly without a destination or goal, doing nothing but drinking, playing pranks, and carousing. Their antics even land them in a small hospital, where they continue to act out—so much so that they infuriate the head physician, who subjects them to rather unorthodox treatments. Thanks to a woman, the head physician himself joins the quartet, and from that point on, the group plunges ever deeper into their wild antics. Amidst infidelities, robberies, arguments, and other escapades, the film concludes with a tragic event: the death of Perozzi, one of the group's pillars. It almost seems as though he—who also serves as the film's narrator, maintaining a melancholic tone despite the movie's lively pace—bears the moral weight of the group's deeds; indeed, his death is initially dismissed by his loved ones as just another elaborate prank.They perfectly embody the group's spirit—seen, for instance, when they follow Perozzi’s hearse and burst out laughing upon realizing they had "conned" an old man after dragging him along on their various misadventures. The film—originally conceived by Germi and intended to be set in Bologna, but ultimately entrusted to Monicelli—represents the most sincere expression of male friendship and camaraderie from an era now gone, yet still relevant in its fundamentals. Naturally, the Tuscan cultural element is also quite prominent and distinctive throughout the movie. Beyond the theme of male friendship, Monicelli—true to form—satirizes the Italian society of the time, a society where adults could ill afford to engage in childish pranks or even maintain the friendships that fueled such antics. The director not only mocks the bourgeois society of the day and its obsession with respectability but also pokes fun at the protagonists themselves, portraying them as incorrigible egoists—figures who are essentially pathetic and destructive, yet comically rendered. The dialogue is razor-sharp, and the Tuscan humor is pervasive—complete with a healthy dose of boorishness. As an ensemble piece, the performances by both the leads and the supporting cast are masterful and remarkable; special mention goes to the ever-brilliant Ugo Tognazzi in the role of the down-and-out, penniless, and buffoonish count. Ultimately, this is an audacious comedy that only appears lighthearted on the surface; in reality, it perfectly captures a specific social landscape and lampoons its rigid conventions.
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My Friends was released on October 23, 1975.
My Friends was directed by Mario Monicelli.
My Friends has a runtime of 2h 20m.
My Friends was produced by Carlo Nebiolo, Andrea Rizzoli.
Four inseparable friends try to face their midlife crisis with day trips and pranks at the expense of their families and the people around them.
The key characters in My Friends are Raffaello Mascetti (Ugo Tognazzi), Rambaldo Melandri (Gastone Moschin), Il Perozzi (Philippe Noiret).
My Friends is rated R.
My Friends is a Comedy, Drama film.
My Friends has an audience rating of 9.1 out of 10.